It’s that time of year again. As deadlines are fast approaching, high school seniors everywhere are scrambling to create the perfect college application. In the past week alone, I’ve had three of my friends send me their Common App essays to proof read, edit, and revise before they could build up the courage to click submit. It made me realize how much pressure we put on ourselves to be the best, to do the best, to go to the ‘best’ school (I could write an entire rant on higher education, but I’ll save that for another day).
In the mean time, I want to talk to you, dear senior. There are a few things you need to hear that I’m sure you’ve been told countless times. Take a moment, and hear me out for a second:
Everything happens for a reason. It seems cliché, but I want you to know that now because a year ago, I didn’t know that. The college application process was really, really hard for me. I saw myself at a big university in the middle of the city. I pictured myself on a campus big enough to ride a bike from class to class, and then to Starbucks on the weekend when I needed to work on essays and projects for my 10+ Gen Eds. I knew college wasn’t meant to be glamorous, and I pictured communal bathrooms and gross dining hall food that I would laugh about with my friends. I imagined homecoming and tail gates and Friday night football games in the freezing cold New England weather. I built up this fantastic image in my mind, and when I was rejected from nearly every school I applied to that fit this image, I was crushed. I literally cried for several days. I still had one school left to hear back from, but my confidence was shaken. If I didn’t get accepted to the other six schools, what would make number seven any different?
I worked my ass off in high school, and I’d be damned if I was settling. So while all my friends were confirming their acceptances and sending in deposits, I was submitting more applications. I told myself I wouldn’t be as picky this second time around, and I applied to schools that I never even considered when I first started this whole process - schools not in a major city, schools in the middle of practically no where, schools that didn’t have ‘the name.’ And to my surprise, I got into every single one, which brings me to my next point: give yourself options. So many of my high school friends come to me describing the perfect school and the perfect class schedule and the perfect group of friends they’ll meet. They have their mind set on one ideal scenario that’s all based on a single college campus tour. Don’t be like me. Don’t focus all your time and energy on one place. Don’t let it define you or determine the next four years for you. Take a risk, apply to a school you’d normally never even consider, and let it surprise you.
After what felt like a year-long application process, I still had just one school left to hear from: lucky number seven. When I heard I was accepted into Emerson College, it was the happiest day of my life. And then I realized something: I had just spent a couple of hundred dollars after applying to five more colleges. Thus, the most important advice I will ever be able to give to you is to simply be patient and have confidence.
Just a quick recap:
Everything happens for a reason. No, I don’t need a bike to ride from class to class...or to Starbucks. Instead, the majority of my classes are in the building next to mine. In the winter, when it feels like it’s negative 40 degrees outside (if you’ve never experienced a New England winter, prepare yourself), it will literally take me less than five minutes to leave my warm bed, throw on a sweatshirt, and make it to class on time. And as for morning coffee runs? I have three different choices to pick from - all on Boylston Street, and all within a minute walk from my dorm. I don’t have to prepare for projects and essays for my 10+ Gen Eds. Instead, I’m taking major-specific classes as a freshmen. While friends from high school are taking History 101 or English Literature of the 18th Century, I’ll be taking Foundations of Journalism or The Digital Journalist.
Give yourself options. This applies to life beyond the college application process as well. (Yes, I promise: there is life beyond the Common App.) College is a time for putting yourself out there, for finding new interests and for creating yourself. To my friends whom have their mind firmly planted on small colleges in a rural town: do me a favor and apply to one big university in the center of a city. And vice versa. You’ll never know what you don’t know unless you’re constantly trying new things and surprising yourself.
And finally, be patient and have confidence. Maybe you’re denied from every school you applied to. Maybe you’re wait-listed at your top school. Maybe you get accepted to every school, and you’re now waiting for financial aid packages to determine where you’ll go. Know that you have done everything in your power to get to where you are today, and know that everything you have done is good enough.
This time in your life is scary. I know that, trust me. It feels like your entire life is riding on those little packages - or envelopes - that come in the mail in April and May. Once you finally hit submit, or get accepted, or send in your deposit, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I remember that feeling. But I also remember that feeling of defeat: like I wasn’t good enough; like I hadn’t tried hard enough. I put so much pressure on myself last year that I lost my way, and I let this whole process determine my happiness.
It took me until I was sitting in my first Freshman class at a small college in a big city to realize that this process did not define me; it made me stronger. And it will make you stronger, too.
